15 November 2011

The whales had been perfectly preserved in the sedementary rock beneath the Atacama desert, with a number of fossils being unearthed in pristine condition, including a family group that appears to be a mother, father and baby whale. This area was long known to be a good place for finding whale fossils, popularily known among the locals as “Whale Hill.”

All these marvelous and valuable fossils, however, could’ve been lost forever, or even worse, destroyed by a potential highway which was projected to pass through the site. Luckily, paleontologist Mario Suarez managed to persuade his government to recover the bones first. Moreover, the government now plans to build a new museum to house what appears to be an amazing collection.

Sounds like the brave paleontologist intervened just in time to save the dead whales! Wouldn't want them saved to be sold to bidders willing to pay top dollar for fossils or anything.